Subject: Arts Education (1 - 3), or English Language Arts (1 - 3) Title: Where Did My Sunflowers Van Gogh?Description: Students will read about the life of Vincent Van Gogh and observe how the events of his life shaped his art. Students will view various works by the artist and evaluate the changes in them. Students will then create a still life sunflower portrait interpretation based on the works of Vincent Van Gogh.
This is a College- and Career-Ready Standards showcase lesson plan.Subject: English Language Arts (3), or Technology Education (3 - 5) Title: What in the World is Wrong with Sammy? Making Predictions and Create a Story with a new character.Description: This lesson provides students with the technology-based project researching Guinea Pigs. The trade book, Sammy, the Classroom Guinea Pig, will be used to make predictions.The students will use the facts from their research to create a story about Guinea Pigs and use themselves as a character in the story.

Subject: English Language Arts (2 - 3), or Information Literacy (K - 12) Title: Play the Dewey Decimal System GameDescription: This lesson introduces the 10 main categories used in the Dewey Decimal Classification System for non-fiction bookshelf arrangement. A slideshow will be presented to students to help them learn details about the Dewey Decimal Classification System. Students will be able to demonstrate what they learn through participating in an interactive game.

Subject: English Language Arts (3), or Technology Education (3 - 5) Title: Proper Noun RaceDescription: During this lesson, students will review nouns and identify common and proper nouns in context. A short story will be written using both types of nouns. An interactive Internet site will be used to reinforce the lesson.

Subject: English Language Arts (3), or Mathematics (3) Title: A Math and Language Arts lesson: Introduction to DivisionDescription: The lesson will help students develop an initial understanding of division and clarify how the four operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division relate to and are separate from each other. The lesson begins with a brainstorming discussion which builds background and fosters comprehension. A big book, The Doorbell Rang, by Pat Hutchins, is used along with manipulatives to provide instruction at concrete and pictorial levels. Students will demonstrate what they have learned by writing a short story incorporating simple division.

Subject: English Language Arts (3), or Social Studies (3 - 5), or Technology Education (3 - 5) Title: Settling the West: Westward ExpansionDescription: During this lesson, students will have the opportunity to experience the westward expansion through literature and the Internet. By creating a brochure and a slideshow presentation, students will become aware of the difficulties people faced through their travels.

Subject: English Language Arts (3), or Information Literacy (K - 12), or Technology Education (3 - 5) Title: Dewey Decimal Classification System MuralDescription: Students will select a book from an assigned section in the non-fiction area of the library. After reading the books, students will write a paragraph that summarizes the content area of the book. Students will illustrate the book that they read. Students will construct a mural by gluing their illustrations under the corresponding Dewey Decimal Classification. Students will make an oral presentation to the class in which they talk about the book they read.

Subject: English Language Arts (3) Title: Fly Away Home by Eve BuntingDescription: This lesson is part of a week-long unit. It focuses on the pre-reading phase of guided reading. It aims to activate prior knowledge, preview vocabulary, and set a purpose for reading. This book deals with a very sensitive issue that most children know little or nothing about, homeless people. In a non-judgmental way the author shows how a father and son deal with the situation. The story leaves the reader with hope that someday father and son and all other homeless people will again have a home.

Subject: Character Education (K - 12), or English Language Arts (3) Title: Dr. Seuss on the Loose: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry StreetDescription: In Dr. Seuss’ first published children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, Marco, inspired by the passing of a horse and wagon, imagines a series of increasingly incredible sights on his way home from school. This story provides a springboard for discussing the concepts of honesty, imagination, and creativity and for exploring the difference between dishonesty and creativity. Students will learn to recognize when it is appropriate to weave an elaborate tale and when it is not.

Subject: English Language Arts (3), or Technology Education (3 - 5) Title: Just Plain LivingDescription: Students work through a teacher-prepared Webquest in order to learn about the art, food, shelter, clothing, etc. of the Plains Indians. Internet resources are used to collect information in order to make group presentations to the class. Students have the opportunity to decide among several projects to complete in order to demonstrate what they have learned.

Subject: Character Education (K - 12), or English Language Arts (3), or Technology Education (3 - 5) Title: Learning about CinquainsDescription: After reading/hearing Junie B. First Grader Cheater Pants by Barbara Park and discussing the concept of cheating, following directions, and poetry, students write cinquains and publish a class booklet.

Subject: English Language Arts (3), or Technology Education (3 - 5) Title: Larger than LifeDescription: Students will write a tall tale narrative including larger than life characters with unusual skills or abilities using exaggeration, humor, surprise endings, and story elements (setting, characters, conflict, resolution).

Subject: Language Arts,MathematicsTitle: Shapes ArtAdd BookmarkDescription: In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, students participate in activities in which they focus on connections between mathematics and children s literature. They listen to the poem Shapes from Shel Silverstein s A Light in the Attic and then recognize, draw, and describe geometric figures.Thinkfinity Partner: IlluminationsGrade Span: K,PreK,1,2,3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts,MathematicsTitle: Making BedsAdd BookmarkDescription: In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, students participate in activities in which they focus on connections between mathematics and children s literature. They listen to the story How Big Is a Foot? by Rolf Myller and then explore the need for a standard unit of measure.Thinkfinity Partner: IlluminationsGrade Span: K,PreK,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

Subject: Language Arts,Social StudiesTitle: On This Day with Lewis and ClarkAdd BookmarkDescription: This five-lesson unit, from EDSITEment, is designed to help students appreciate the immensity and mystery of the mission Lewis and Clark accepted. As experts investigating specific subjects assigned to Lewis by President Jefferson, students conduct careful research. Reading brief diary entries of the men of the Corps sparks the interest of students as they relive the discoveries of the original participants.Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEmentGrade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language ArtsTitle: Demonstrating Comprehension Through Journal WritingAdd BookmarkDescription: Students demonstrate comprehension by responding to open-ended questions based on the Newbery Honor book Mr. Popper's Penguins, and then draw from the text and their personal experiences to create journals.Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThinkGrade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language ArtsTitle: Find favorite book picks in the Children's Choices.Add BookmarkDescription: Students create lists of their favorite books and then the class creates a '' Top Picks'' class booklist. Students can use the Book Cover Creator to create a book jacket for their favorite book.Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThinkGrade Span: K,1,2,3,4,5,6

Subject: Language ArtsTitle: Technical Reading and Writing Using Board GamesAdd BookmarkDescription: Students celebrate a novel they have read and get hands-on experience with technical writing by creating a board game based on the novel and writing the instructions for it.Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThinkGrade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language ArtsTitle: Author Lois Duncan was born on this date in 1934.Add BookmarkDescription: Mysteries are shared with students for them to solve and brainstorm the attributes of a good mystery. Small groups then compose short mysteries using the Mystery Cube.Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThinkGrade Span: 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Language ArtsTitle: A Genre Study of Letters With The Jolly Postman Add BookmarkDescription: Students read The Jolly Postman, in which a postman delivers letters to storybook characters. They explore different types of mail and categorize letters from the book and their own mail.Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThinkGrade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language ArtsTitle: Behind the Scenes With CinderellaAdd BookmarkDescription: Cinderella without castles, coaches, or ball gowns? Students use versions of Cinderella to explore how the setting of a story time, place, and culture affects the characters and plot.Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThinkGrade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language ArtsTitle: Using Prediction as a Prereading StrategyAdd BookmarkDescription: Students learn about and apply the prediction strategy while reading a trade book. They use response journals to record questions and responses based on prereading predictions.Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThinkGrade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language ArtsTitle: Readers TheatreAdd BookmarkDescription: Students develop scripts, perform, and use their voices to depict characters from texts, giving them the opportunity to develop fluency and further enhance comprehension of what they are reading.Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThinkGrade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language ArtsTitle: Book Report Alternative: Examining Story Elements Using Story Map Comic StripsAdd BookmarkDescription: Comic frames are traditionally used to illustrate a story in a short, concise format. In this lesson, students use a six-paneled comic strip frame to create a story map, summarizing a book or story that they've read. Each panel retells a particular detail or explains a literary element (such as setting or character) from the story.Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThinkGrade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language ArtsTitle: Voting! What's It All About?Add BookmarkDescription: Students explore a variety of sources for information about voting. They evaluate the information to determine if it is fact or opinion, and then create a graffiti wall about voting.Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThinkGrade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language ArtsTitle: Biographies: Creating Timelines of a LifeAdd BookmarkDescription: In this lesson students explore a number of sources to create a biographical timeline about a selected person. Students collaboratively research and resolve conflicting information they find during their investigation.Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThinkGrade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language ArtsTitle: November is National American Indian Heritage Month.Add BookmarkDescription: Students explore Native American heritage through the study of pourquoi tales, write their own original pourquoi tales, and use the ReadWriteThink Printing Press to publish them.Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThinkGrade Span: 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12